


Forsaken Waters

by NerdyNinja



Category: Senyuu.
Genre: AU, Gen, Horror, One Shot, Relationship open to interpretation, monster au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2015-10-24
Packaged: 2018-04-27 20:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5063371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyNinja/pseuds/NerdyNinja
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Salt is an apprentice mage living in his teacher's cottage, deep in the woods and well removed from civilization. He loves his new home, he really does. But his master Alba is rarely home, often having to leave in order settle one crisis after another as the Hero Mage. Salt can't help but feel lonely. One day however, he meets another boy his age named Lake, who also lives alone in the wilderness. The two quickly become friends, but is the other boy really what he seems? And will this friendship end up being a blessing or a curse?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Happy Halloween!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forsaken Waters

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here we go. Another one-shot in the spirit of Halloween. Unlike last time however, this isn't going to be a light-hearted comedy. This time, I thought I'd go for something more along the lines of horror. What's October and Halloween without scary stories after all?
> 
> That being said, it honestly feels more like an attempt at a folktale than a proper horror story...
> 
> Can any of you guess what kind of monster Lake is by the time you reach the end?
> 
> Disclaimer: None of the characters presented in this fan fiction belong to me. They are property of Haruhara Robinson and his affiliated publishing company.

_Cold._

 

_It was cold._

 

_This place was always cold._

 

_Even in the summer, this place still felt cold to him._

 

_That was because the cold had nothing to do with the seasons._

 

_It was cold because he was alone._

 

_So alone._

 

_He thinks he may have not been alone a long time ago, but he can’t remember._

 

_It didn’t matter, because he was alone right now. The past couldn’t keep him warm._

 

_Oh, how he wished there was someone else here._

 

_He was tired of living alone._

 

_If only someone would stay with him in this place._

 

_Forever…_

* * *

In a quaint cottage deep in the forest, a boy was practicing magic.

This boy was no older than 13, with slate-gray spiky, unruly hair and clear blue eyes behind spectacles. A well fitted auburn sleeveless tunic over a pristine white shirt, as well as crisp tan breeches implied a certain amount of wealth from his caretaker. Most other children his age would be wearing the hand-me-downs of their siblings, or simply clothes that were not specifically made to their form.

This boy’s name was Salt, and he was both the ward and apprentice of a famous mage. Hence, the magic practice.

Unfortunately, said practice was not going as well as he had hoped.

Salt struggled to concentrate, to focus and direct his mana into the simple beginner’s spell that his master had assigned him. It was supposed to conjure a flame, its size and intensity depending on the caster’s will and the amount of power used. He had memorized the theory, he should have been able to pull it off - and yet whenever it came to actual application he always fell flat on his face.

Salt took deep breaths, trying to calm his erratic heart. Learning magic was fun, but actually using it was so nerve-wracking. His master had told him that his anxiety was the reason his spells usually failed, because he didn’t trust himself to cast them correctly.

Why should he? He was just an orphan picked up on the side of the road. Before being taken in by his master he had never had any reason to believe he could become something. That he had any skills or potential.

Apparently though, he had the potential to become a mage. Few people actually possessed enough mana to do so, and thus mages were somewhat uncommon. Among those few, his master stood far above them all. When his mana awakened, he had so much of it that he had to be isolated during his training, or else his power would cause widespread havoc. In the years after, he had used that power the save countless people, earning him the title of Hero Mage, among others.

Ah! Salt’s mind was wandering. He didn’t need to be thinking about his master right now, other than the fact that the man believed he could do this.

He brought his attention back to the tiny, flickering flame hovering just a few feet in front of him. If he could just maintain that flame, maybe make it a little bigger, he will have finally succeeded. The trouble was, his mana tried to escape the parameters he had set for it. Either it would slip from his grasp and remain unused in his body, or it would almost spill over into the spell and cause it to go out of control. Simultaneously trying to push more mana into the spell while attempting to hold back more than he needed was a tricky balancing act that Salt still hadn’t perfected.

The boy gently bit his lip in worry. This was the point where he would usually fail.

He anxiously watched the flame alternate between almost going out and flaring up. He needed to find his equilibrium!

This struggle continued for well over a minute. His apprehension surged every time he came close to failure, making it even harder to find stability. He could feel the situation spinning wildly beyond his control. At this point there were only two possible outcomes, either the flame would vanish or it would explode.

Vanishing was preferable to an explosion, and Salt had no confidence that he could salvage a success from this. With a heavy sigh, he stopped the spell altogether. The flame disappeared as though it had never been.

Salt trudged over to the table, pulled up a chair, and morosely let his face fall on the polished surface. He had been trying to grasp this spell for over two weeks now, and he felt no closer than he had when he first started.

He allowed himself to wallow in dejection for a moment. Eventually, he lifted his head and leaned back in his chair, taking in the sight of his home. The cottage was essentially a two-story square, with the first floor completely open and the second floor with individual rooms. Both floors were well lit from large windows set into each wall. The first floor was divided into four equal quarters surrounding a central hearth. The upper right quarter was the ‘dining room’, where Salt and his master would eat their meals. It consisted of little more than a broad, oak table, two chairs, and various sacks and barrels of ingredients for food lined up against the walls.

The upper left quarter was the ‘potion lab’, with a second smaller hearth set into the wall with a chimney to carry away dangerous fumes. The walls were lined with a counter, cluttered with various tools and recipe books, and a series of cabinets that contained finished potions as well as ingredients.

The lower left quarter was essentially the storage corner, or rather, it became the storage corner after the original room dedicated to it was cleared out for his bedroom. Various magical items that his master had been asked to take on or disenchant lay in crates and boxes in a haphazard heap. Each and every box was thoroughly sealed though, meaning that even if the entire pile were to come crashing down the contents would be safe and harmless. The hoard was starting to encroach on the other designated areas of the floor however.

The final, lower right quarter was a training area. Magic circles to seal errant spell craft were painted onto the stone floor and the ceiling. His master had insisted that Salt practice his beginner’s spells indoors while he was gone on missions. Apparently he didn’t want his apprentice to fall prey to some wild animal while he was gone, and so cleared out this quarter specifically for Salt’s training.

The second story consisted of their bedrooms on one side and a study on the other. The study was just as cluttered as the rest of the house, with bookshelves overflowing with texts on magic to the point that the remainder had to be stacked in precarious towers on the floor. There were also various papers on magic research, conducted by his master, strewn about the desk and the floor.

His master wasn’t exactly the most organized person.

Salt chuckled to himself at that thought. He supposed other people might dislike the mess, but to him, he couldn’t imagine a better place to call home. He had a roof over his head and three filling meals a day. He had someone who called him by name and _wanted_ him here. Really, he still couldn’t believe his good luck.

Unfortunately, there was still one aspect of his new life that never failed to drag his spirits down like a lead weight.

He was lonely.

His master, being a renowned mage and hero, was often called away in response to some crisis. He was summoned to fight monsters, divert natural disasters or repair the resulting damage, arrest powerful deviant mages, seal potent magical artifacts… The problems presented to him never seemed to end.

If Salt was lucky, he would have his master to himself for two, maybe three weeks before yet another calamity befell the kingdom. Depending on the severity and where it occurred, each mission could take anywhere from a week to well over a month to resolve. He would receive letters via teleportation magic during those times, but it wasn’t the same as having his master with him.

Salt shook off his brooding thoughts. At least for today, he had to reason to linger on that. Why? Because his master, his guardian, was coming back today. He had finally managed to subdue two warring dragons that had decimated the villages caught in the crossfire and was on his way back.

Salt couldn’t wait to hear how it happened.

Lost in his imaginings, he almost missed the sound of someone approaching the door. He quickly jumped up from his seat and ran eagerly for the entrance just as the doorknob was turning.

The door had been open less than a second before Salt threw himself on the figure standing in the doorway. 

“ALBA!!”

“ _Oof!_ Salt careful now!” The newcomer was laughing with pure joy. “I’m back! Did you miss me?”

Salt hugged Alba tight, nodding in answer. The man before him was average in height, with caramel brown hair clipped short except for the bangs parted to frame both sides of his face. His eyes were the same shade of brown and overflowing with kindness and affection. Despite being in his mid-twenties, his face was still round and youthful, with a bright smile directed as his young charge. His skin was lightly tanned and his build moderately muscled, in spite of being a mage rather than a warrior. Alba’s trademark white cloak hung from his shoulders. Beneath that lay a bright, crimson shirt and tan breeches that ended at the knee. Scuffed calf-high boots covered his feet.

Alba returned the hug with equal enthusiasm. The two took a second to simply enjoy the moment before Alba asked, “Have you eaten lunch yet? Because I for one am starving. I could make us both something.”

Salt let go of him and shook his head. “No, I haven’t eaten yet.” He had actually eaten an apple and some bread to tide him over until dinner, but Alba didn’t need to know that. He’d take the chance to eat together any day.

Once Alba settled his bags, the two of them got to work on lunch together. While they worked, Alba asked Salt about his progress with the flame conjuring spell. Salt admitted that he hadn’t advanced much. Alba mirrored his student’s disheartened expression for a moment, but quickly comforted him, saying that he’d had the same difficulty back when he first began his studies.

For the first time in a while, the cottage was filled with the talk and laughter of both its residents.

Salt hoped that Alba wouldn’t be called away anytime soon.

 

*****

 

His master had only been home a week before another urgent dispatch arrived.

Salt swallowed his bitter disappointment as Alba prepared to leave. These summons had been coming more frequently as of late, meaning that Alba was gone more often than not. Something about monster activity increasing around this time of the year.

Alba finished packing and slung the bag on his back. He made it to the door before heaving a deep sigh and turning to face his protege.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ll be traveling quite a ways though, so I don’t expect to be back for at least three weeks.” His mouth curved down in a scowl and he muttered to himself, “Why the king can’t just have a team of place mages handle it I’ll never know. He doesn’t need to call me in for every little thing…”

He sighed again and pulled Salt into a hug. “I hate leaving you alone like this. I feel like I’m neglecting you. When this mission is over I’m demanding that the king only call me in when someone else can’t handle it.”

Salt returned the hug with a wavering smile. Only Alba would think to make demands of the king for the sake of spending time with him.

“It’s okay. You’re the Hero Mage after all. You’re out there saving lives.” He let go of Alba and stepped back, looking up at him with determination. “And when I get better at magic you can bring me along too! You won’t have to leave me behind!”

The corners of Alba’s mouth curved up ever so slightly. He ruffled Salt’s hair and backed out the door. “You got it. So you’d better work on mastering that spell before I get back so you can join me in my adventures!”

Alba turned to the path that led to the nearby village and walked away, waving at Salt from behind.

Salt watched his master leave until he could no longer see the other man. Once Alba was gone from sight, the smile fell from his face.

He was alone again.

He had meant what the said. He understood that Alba was doing great, important things. He really admired him for that and dreamed of working alongside him.

It didn’t make him feel much better.

Salt closed the door and began to practice. He had made some progress under Alba’s tutelage, but still hadn’t completely perfected it. For an hour or two, he kept repeating the spell again and again before giving up in disgust. Normally he would keep it up for a while longer, but having to say goodbye so soon after Alba had gotten back from his last job had put him in a horrible mood.

He figured that he may as well do something productive in the meantime and walked over to the potion lab. Actually casting magic may constantly escape his grasp, but potion making was something he could do. It was time consuming but simple, so long as you payed attention.

People typically thought that mages of Alba’s level wouldn’t even need to rely on potions, but they were far more useful than most realized. Mages often had to conserve their mana reserves for important matters, this was especially true for Alba who constantly dealt with problems that required massive amounts of mana. If a smaller problem could be addressed with a potion instead of a spell, that meant the mana that would have been used could be saved for something bigger.

Alba often took a bunch of healing and other types of potions when he left. Salt had taken it upon himself to continually restore their potion stock.

Salt opened the cabinets of completed potions to see what needed to be replaced. Once again, a number of healing potions needed to be crafted. It seemed like they also needed more stamina potions, cleansing potions, invisibility potions, and water-breathing potions. 

Salt winced. He had been letting the supply run low while the flame conjuring spell had eluded him. It was going to take a while to fully restock.

He closed the cabinet of finished potions and started gathering the herbs and other ingredients he would need. He had only opened the first cabinet when he realized that he had a problem. Their stores of herbs were running low too.

The herbs for the healing potions wouldn’t be too difficult, Alba cultivated them in windowsill gardens and had taught Salt how to care for them. The herbs for stamina and cleansing potions were fairly common as well and could probably be found with a walk through the surrounding forest. It was the herbs for the invisibility and water-breathing potions that were going to be troublesome. Alba had told him that they only grew in very specific environments, and were somewhat rare.

Salt groaned in frustration. This was going to take longer than he had thought.

He searched though the piles of book scattered across the long counter and found the one he had been seeking. It was a small, thick tome on plant identification and knowledge, including were to find them. Salt knew the names of the herbs in question and quickly looked them up in the index.

The necessary herb for the invisibility potion was apparently going to be impossible. Not only did it only grow in swamps, but it was only available for a short time during the early spring. It was mid-autumn now.

The herb for the water-breathing potion, on the other hand, grew on the banks of still bodies of water. Salt seemed to recall seeing a lake on the map Alba gave him…

He put the book down and ran upstairs to his bedroom. Salt snatched the unfolded map off his desk and made his way back downstairs while glancing over it. As he had thought, there was in fact a lake on the nearby mountain.

Salt couldn’t help but feel concerned about how far he would have to travel. Alba had specifically told him to remain within three miles of the house. This lake was at least ten miles away, and would require him to hike up the mountain. He had no idea how safe that would be. He didn’t even know if there was a path up there.

There was also another thing that bothered him. Over the lake on the map, there was a symbol of a rearing horse in black ink. Salt had no clue what that meant. Was it just an artistic element added in by the cartographer, or was it supposed to signify something?

He stood at the foot of the stairs and contemplated his options. He could just stay in the permitted area and make what potions he could. Alba rarely used water-breathing potions from what Salt remembered. It probably wasn’t necessary to go out of his way to make more, especially if it meant disobeying his master.

That meant staying in an empty house all day.

Salt folded the map and went to get his backpack. It would take roughly three hours to reach the lake and it was already almost nine o’clock. He would need to pack a lunch and a water pouch, find his coat, pack the identification book…

Within twenty minutes, Salt had finished gearing himself up. He donned a light, rust colored coat over his white shirt and dark brown pants. He made sure that he put on his most broken in pair of boots for the hike. When he was fully clothed, he then slid the backpack on his shoulders, grabbed the map, and made his exit.

 

*****

 

Three hours later, an utterly exhausted Salt reached his goal.

The lake was enormous and still as a mirror, reflecting the clear blue sky and the glaring sun. It lay in the bowl of a small valley in the side of the mountain, like something had scooped away a section of the rock. There were a few alpine trees in a handful of stands lining the slopes, but mostly there were just grasses and the occasional juniper shrub.

There were also a number of rocks that would make perfect seating for weary young boy, a fact that Salt chose to take full advantage of. He opted for one of the larger rocks near the water, covered in a cushy moss, and settled down to catch his breath.

He had just finished taking a drink from his water pouch when he heard a soft splash behind him. Salt turned to look, but there were nothing but ripples on the water’s surface a few meters away. Figuring that it was probably a fish, he turned his back to the lake only to hear it again - louder this time. He glanced at the water to see even more ripples, closer than before.

Salt’s instincts were telling him this wasn't a fish. Warily, he stood and picked up a stone lying at his feet. After taking a few steps back, he took aim at what appeared to be the center of the ripples and tossed the rock in.

Salt waited.

For a minute, nothing happened. 

Just as he began to think that he had scared off whatever made those splashes, the rock came flying out of the water and landed at his feet. Salt stared at it in shock.

His brain screamed at him to get away. This was uncanny. What kind of animal would toss back a rock that had been thrown at it?

But then again, the rock hadn’t actually hit him. It had landed about a foot in front of him. Either the creature had terrible aim or it didn’t actually want the rock to hit.

Curiosity growing, Salt tossed the rock back in again. This time, it came back almost immediately. Just like before, it landed a short distance in front of him rather than making contact.

Salt repeated the process another three times. Each time, the rock would be thrown back on the bank. By that point, his curiosity had swallowed his fear whole.

Tentatively, he stepped closer to the water.

In an instant, something shot out of the lake and clamped around his ankles like manacles, cold and hard as iron. Salt shrieked in terror and attempted to retreat, only to fall hard on his back.

It took a moment for him to realize that whatever had his legs wasn't dragging him into the water, and that there was some very human laughter coming from it.

Salt propped himself on his forearms to peer down at his captor. To his shock, it wasn’t some monster that held him fast, but a human. More specifically, it was a human boy around his own age laughing hysterically.

“I…I’m sorry but…..you should have seen your face!” The mysterious boy barely managed to squeeze an apology in-between his bouts of cackling.

His hair was black as ink and plastered against his head from the water. It also had water weeds caught in it, from swimming in the lake Salt assumed. In comparison, his skin was as pale as paper. He looked like he hadn’t been touched by the sun in years. His most striking feature by far however, was his eyes. They were _red_. 

The combination would have been eerie and unsettling if it weren’t for the cheery grin and playful glint in his gaze. His expression could honestly have rivaled the sun in brightness.

The boy climbed out of the lake, shaking water from his hair and revealing that he wasn’t wearing a single scrap of clothing. It made his unnaturally pale skin all the more apparent under the bright midday sun.

For a few seconds Salt could only gape at the absurdity of the whole situation. Shock, embarrassment, curiosity, and anxiety all warred against each other in his mind. Eventually, one clear emotion and thought came out on top.

“Where are your clothes!? It’s fall! And that water must be freezing! You’re going to get sick and die of pneumonia!!”

His concern for the other boy’s health had come out as a shriek, one that seemed to amuse the strange kid further and inspire another bout of mirth.

He flapped a hand at the still prone Salt. “Oh don’t worry about that! I’ve been in this water even in the middle of winter and haven’t gotten sick! As for my clothes…” He paused for a second, as though he had to think about the answer. “I left them on the bank on the opposite side of the lake. I didn’t want them to get wet you know.”

That…..made sense, Salt thought. He certainly wouldn’t want to hike all the way back to the cottage in wet clothes in the middle of autumn. Regardless, it didn’t change the fact that it was cold on this mountain and this kid had no clothes on!

Salt stood up and removed his coat, holding it out to the other while awkwardly looking away. “Until you get your clothes back on, wear this. Even if you say you won’t get sick it isn’t good for you to walk around like that…”

The raven-haired boy stared at the offered attire before breaking out into another brilliant grin and accepting. He settled it on his shoulders and snuggled into the rust-colored fabric.

“Wah….It’s so warm!”

Salt couldn’t help but smile back. “That is kind of the idea. Anyway…” His brow furrowed in confusion. “Who are you? And what are you doing up here? I haven’t seen you in the village, and even if you were from there it would have taken you over seven hours to get here.”

The village he was referring to lay a few hours travel from his home, in the opposite direction of the mountain. It wouldn’t be _impossible_ for one of the village kids to make the trek up here, but it was highly unlikely. The only reason he could think for any villager to come here would be for the same reason he was, for potion or medicine ingredients. If that was the case, they wouldn’t send a child by himself so far from the settlement. If he wasn’t then that made even less sense. There weren’t any other villages or towns he could have come from in the area.

In other words, the other boy _should not_ have been up here.

“Oh, uh…” The boy seemed to flounder for an answer that Salt felt should not have required any thought. He glanced around until his eyes settled on the loch. Suddenly, his face lit up like he had an epiphany. “You can call me Lake!”

He was obviously lying, but maybe he had an embarrassing name and wanted to use a nickname instead. In any case, Salt was just glad to finally have a name for him at all.

“As for where I come from…I don’t live in a village. You came from the southwest right? I actually live on the other side of the mountain, to the northeast. I come up here a lot because I really like it here.”

Something in his expression when he said that last sentence seemed off somehow, but Salt didn’t dwell on it. Lake’s answer at least explained why he had never seen the other boy before now, but…

“Do you and your family really live out in the wilderness by yourselves? That doesn’t seem very safe. Are you guys trappers or something?”

Lake shook his head. He had lost his chipper attitude from earlier and responded with a neutral expression. “I live by myself. I don’t have a family.”

Salt felt like he’d been punched in the gut. Boy, didn’t that answer hit home.

“B-by yourself? Alone and way out here?”

“Yep.” Lake nodded.

Images of a familiar, empty house flashed through Salt’s mind. He could bear with being lonely for a time because he knew that eventually Alba would come back. He knew that he wasn’t really alone. But from the sounds of it, Lake didn’t even have that. To wake up to that empty house knowing that it would always stay empty….

Salt shuddered.

Misinterpreting his reaction, Lake spoke up, interrupting the other’s imagination. “Oh, I’m sorry! You must be getting cold without your coat! I’ll run to the other side real quick and get my own clothes so you can have it back.”

With that, Lake dashed off along the bank. A few yards out though, he turned around and shouted, “I almost forgot! What’s _your_ name?”

Salt’s lips twitched upward in a another smile and he shouted back. “It’s Salt!”

Salt chose to wait on the bank while Lake went to collect his clothes, locating the page in his book about the herb he came for. He doubted he would recognize it on memory alone after all.

Several minutes later, Lake came back fully clothed in a black, long-sleeved tunic and knee- length, navy breeches. He still wasn’t wearing any shoes, but didn’t seem to mind that his feet were exposed to the chill. They weren’t blue with cold at any rate. He was also carrying Salt’s coat in his arms.

“Here you go!” He held out the borrowed apparel. 

“Ah, thanks.” Salt took his coat back and hastily put it back on. He really had gotten cold while Lake had been gone.

“So listen, I came up here to find a certain herb that’s used for potion making. You said you come up here pretty often right? Have you seen anything like this?” Salt held the book out in front of him, already opened to the correct page.

Lake furrowed his brows in concentration, tilting his head to see the illustration better. A moment later he made a soft exclamation and gleefully grabbed Salt by the arm, leading him along the bank. “Yeah, I’ve seen that before! There’s a bunch of it growing around here. I had no idea you could make potions out of it…”

Lake continued to babble on like he never intended to stop. Salt didn’t really mind. It was nice to have someone to talk to, and the other boy probably hadn’t had someone like that for a while, judging by how eager he seemed.

Even after they had successfully located and carefully packed away the precious fruit of Salt’s labor, the thought of going their separate ways never occurred to him. The two continued to talk for hours—sharing knowledge about the local flora and fauna on Lake’s part and stories about his master’s exploits on Salt’s part.

Salt especially would get absorbed in recounting his tales with enthusiasm, as well as boasting that he was training as Alba’s apprentice. His chest swelled with pride at the awed look Lake would give him.

Sadly, the time passed all too quickly. Salt glanced at the sky and noticed that it was growing late in the afternoon. It he didn’t leave now he wouldn’t make it back before dark, and he certainly didn’t want to be out in the forest at night.

His heart sank. He’d been having so much fun. Salt couldn’t even remember the last time he had talked to someone his own age. Before being taken in by Alba, the other kids of his village had avoided him. Their parents had told them to stay away from “the homeless beggar rat”. Naturally, this meant that Salt had never had any friends.

Until now, he hoped.

“Salt? Why are you staring at the sun? Doesn’t that hurt your eyes?”

Salt was jolted back to the present. “Ah well…” He really didn’t want to say goodbye, this _sucked_. “It’s getting late. If I don’t leave now, the sun will set before I make it back home so…” He trailed off and looked away.

“……leave?”

That single quivering word brought Salt’s attention back to Lake. The boy looked utterly heartbroken. There were even the beginnings of tears in his carnelian eyes.

Salt rapidly went to console him. “I have to leave for today, but I’ll definitely be back tomorrow! I’ll even leave as early as I can so that we can have more time together!”

“………..you promise?” Lake asked in a desolate whisper.

“I promise.”

 

*****

 

Meeting Lake very quickly became a routine. Salt would wake at dawn and leave almost immediately, only taking the time to eat breakfast and pack enough lunch for both of them. They would talk and play for the whole day, Salt occasionally telling stories about the gifts Alba would bring back or showing off what few spells he had mastered. They would play tag, skip rocks, fish, act out the heroic adventures of Alba, hold silly competitions like who could hold their breath the longest…

Alas, their fun couldn’t last forever. They would both continually glance at the sun as the hours passed, knowing that Salt would have to leave well before sunset to make it home before nightfall. Lake would clearly grow despondent as the sun began to sink in the sky. Everyday he would ask Salt to promise he would return, and every day he seemed even more heartbroken when they had to say goodbye.

Salt hated seeing him make that face.

The days stretched on until almost two weeks had past. Salt had been devoting most of his time to Lake rather than his studies(he still can’t get that simple spell right). He felt guilty about that, but thought that Alba wouldn’t mind since he had made a friend.

One day however, just as he was headed out the door, Salt noticed something below him. He crouched down to inspect strange indents pressed into the ground. Were those animal tracks? They looked like hoof marks, but there was something bizarre about them. They weren’t the two-toed footprints of deer, wild boar, or even goats. They were clearly from a horse, an unshod one if Salt had to guess. But that made no sense, there weren’t any wild horses in the area.

The tracks congregated around the front door, as though the beast had impatiently paced or stamped the ground, but also trailed off around the side of the house. Salt rose to follow them and found that they ended just under his bedroom window on the second story.

The tracks led nowhere else. They were only around the front door and below his window.

The apprentice mage tried to calm his breathing. It had to be a coincidence. There was no way a wild animal knew which window was his. It was probably just frustrated that it couldn’t get inside from the door and tried to find another way in, that was all. When it realized it couldn’t it left.

Salt told himself this over and over, attempting to reason with himself. He was just letting his paranoia get the best of him out here in the woods.

Yet, no matter how unlikely it may have been, he couldn’t shake the thought that it wasn’t a coincidence.

Salt took off running down the path, hoping that the sprint would clear his head. There was _nothing_ to be worried about. He’d make the trip up the mountain, have fun with Lake, come back, and wake up tomorrow realizing how silly all this was.

Just the thought of seeing his friend lifted his spirits. Salt was determined to have fun today and not jump at the sight of his own shadow. He slowed his pace to a more conservative jog and occupied his mind with plans for today.

 

*****

 

As Salt had expected, the two boys were so caught up in their own little world that any lingering anxiety from the morning had long since vanished.

They had played, talked, competed, shown off, and pulled pranks on one another until they were left exhausted and giddy on the grass. It was already late afternoon, and rapidly approaching the time Salt would need to leave.

He sighed and turned his head to face Lake….

…to see the other boy staring right back at him.

Salt flinched. It wasn’t unusual for him catch Lake staring, it happened pretty frequently actually, especially over the past few days. But the aura his friend had during those times unnerved him.

He had learned that Lake was naturally a cheerful person. His expressions were always warm and radiant, and his personality matched, even if he could be obliviously insensitive at times. The only exceptions were when Salt had to leave and when he would inexplicably stop and stare like this.

When Salt had to leave, it was like watching a star go out. The light and warmth would vanish, leaving behind a face on the verge of crying. But when Lake just stared at him there was… _nothing_. No emotion he could place, no thoughts he could read. No, that wasn’t right. It wasn’t that there was nothing there, it was that whatever _was_ there was so deep and unfathomable that he couldn’t understand it. Whatever it was, it was _powerful_ , and made Salt recoil on reflex.

Lately, it seemed even stronger.

Salt cast those thoughts away. Lake was probably just feeling down because he knew that Salt had to leave. “I really want to stay and hang out some more, but I really should get going.”

Lake didn’t say anything. He just continued to stare.

The silence stretched on.

Suddenly, Lake’s stare was replaced with a smile…but it didn’t have his usual exuberance. It was chilling, and his eyes still held that emotion Salt couldn’t identify. “I know you have to go. But before you do, do you want to swim in the lake with me? It’ll be fun.”

“What?” The unexpected question threw him off guard. “You’re kidding right? I”m not like you, Lake. You may not get sick, but I really _would_ catch pneumonia and die if I went swimming in that freezing water.”

Salt briskly got up and wiped stray bits of grass from his clothes. “So, sorry. But that’s going to have to wait until spring. In the meantime, I seriously should leave. I’ve already stayed longer than I should have with the days growing shorter…”

He turned away from Lake and went to pick up his backpack. “I promise I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Without a backward glance or any other word of farewell, Salt began his descent down the mountain. He knew what kind of face his friend would have if he looked back.

He hated it. He _really_ hated it. Was this how Alba felt when he had to leave Salt behind?

 

*****

 

Three hours later, when Salt arrived home, he found a surprise waiting for him. Alba had sent him a letter.

The boy threw himself on his bed and fervently tore open the envelope. The letter was several pages long and overflowing with Alba’s somewhat messy scrawl. The first few pages described how his mission was going—fairly well apparently—as well as the souvenir he was planning to bring back for Salt and news he picked up about new magic research conducted at the mages guild.

Salt read the account with rapt attention. No doubt the story would be even better when Alba came back to tell it himself. The mention of the souvenir made him happy, Alba always made sure to bring back something awesome like a griffin feather or a dragon scale. New magic research was always interesting, especially when it had the resources of the guild behind it.

The very last page however brought a smile to his face that nearly split it in two. Alba had written that he had taken care of the most important problem, and that a team of other mages would handle the rest. He was already on his way home, which would only take three days if he called in some favors and hurried back. Even better, he had discussed his grievances over being dragged all over the kingdom when he had a charge to look after with the king. Alba had finally gotten the royal to let up on his summons, meaning that he would be home more often.

Salt jumped up with a joyous cry and fell back on the mattress. Not only had he made a friend these past two weeks, Alba was coming back and _staying._ He wouldn’t have to wake up and come back to an empty house—

But Lake still had to.

His happy mood abruptly ground to a halt.

One of the things that the two boys had in common, that drew them to each other, was that they were both alone. For Salt, that was about to change. He would have someone to wake up to and welcome him home.

Nothing had changed for Lake—nothing _would_ change for Lake.

He would still wake up alone and fall asleep alone. Salt knew how horrible that felt. Was it fair that he would stop being alone while his friend didn’t?

No. It wasn’t.

Salt made a decision. He would _make_ Lake’s situation change. He would ask Alba to let Lake live with them. Maybe the other boy could even be a fellow apprentice. They could learn magic together! And when they were more advanced in their training, they could both accompany Alba and be heroes together.

His head filled with visions of a happy family of three, Salt gently placed the letter on the bed and got up to make himself dinner.

 

*****

 

The next morning, Salt awoke to the battering of heavy wind and rain against his home. With a heavy heart, he knew that he couldn’t keep his promise that day. Even if the rain ran its course in the morning, the mountain paths would be too treacherous. Earth softened by the water would give way under his feet, or he would slip on exposed rock. He would have to shut himself inside and hope that tomorrow would be a clear day.

With nothing else to do, Salt decided to practice his magic. Rather, he attempted to practice. His mind would often conjure up the face of his friend, dejected and pleading, awaiting Salt’s return.

He felt guilt gnawing away at his insides. Salt knew that there was no way he could keep his promise today, but the feeling remained all the same. Just yesterday he had decided that he was going to make sure that Lake wasn’t alone anymore, and here he was unable to go to him.

Was Lake waiting in his empty house right now, looking desolately out at the rain?

For a while Salt simply stood and listened to the raindrops pelting the roof and walls, continuing to cast the spell the very last thing on his mind.

The day dragged on, and the rain never stopped. If anything it grew more intense, developing into a full storm. By the time the sun had set, the winds hurled the rain like hail and rattled the shutters as though to tear them from their hinges. Flashes of lighting were followed by growling thunder.

Salt had just finished eating dinner, and was now half-heartedly flipping through the pages of a  book on magical theory that Alba kept on his bookshelf. Eventually he sighed and shut the worn tome. He stared at the round crystal that been serving as his reading light(one of the perks of living in a mage’s home was that you needn’t rely on something as unsteady and potentially dangerous as a candle), his thoughts once again coming back to Lake.

He wouldn’t wait for his master’s return, he decided, tomorrow he would invite Lake to come live with them. He was sure that Alba would be fine with it. Alba always told him how horrible he felt leaving Salt alone while he was off on his missions. This would ease his mind, and he would definitely want to help Lake for the other boy’s sake.

Salt propped an elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand. He continued to daydream about how he would broach the subject, imagining Lake’s overjoyed reaction and the subsequent move in. They would be sharing a bedroom since there wasn’t any other room available. Until Alba got back they would be sharing a bed too he supposed. Oh! The dresser too. Actually, now that he thought about it had he even seen Lake wear anything other than that black tunic and navy breeches?

He was lost deep in his thoughts when a sound startled him back to awareness. It definitely wasn’t thunder, but it had been so faint that Salt questioned whether he heard it at all. He waited, straining to hear it again amongst the din of the elements

There it was again, louder but still too faint to distinguish what it was. An animal maybe?

As though answering his unspoken desire to identify the sound, the storm abated just slightly, the rain easing and the symphony of thunder hitting a lull. In its place, the shrill whinny of a horse rose in a crescendo. Its volume surpassed the thunder from before and seemed to surround him, reverberating throughout the house.

When it finally died down, it was swiftly replaced by what sounded like a herd of horses galloping over his home. He swore that the sound even came from the roof.

That piercing bray resonated through the building again—this time even louder—as though the source was infuriated.

Salt was terrified. He had no idea what this creature was. No normal horse could have galloped up the walls and across the roof. Even the knowledge that it couldn’t enter, courtesy of protection spells Alba had laid down when he purchased the cottage, didn’t ease his mind.

He sat down on the floor, drawing his knees up and covering his hears, praying that whatever this was would go away. He wished his master was here to drive it off. He wished he was better at magic so he could drive it off himself. More than anything, he wished he wasn’t alone right now.

The monster brayed for a third time. Salt thought it sounded almost like a scream.

After the echoes faded, the sound of the rain and the occasional low rumble of thunder were all he could hear.

A minute passed. Then two.

Salt released his captive breath. He dared to hope that maybe it was gone, but then…he heard a softer noise. This time, it didn’t resemble a horse. This time, it sounded human—like a human child, crying. That wasn’t all, he could clearly distinguish a word amongst the pitiful wails and hiccups.

“Saaaaaaaaalllllllt……Saaaaaaaaallllllllt……….”

It was his name. Someone was calling his name.

No, not someone. _Lake_.

Salt’s fear evaporated like mist. Lake was crying and calling for him out in the storm. His desire protect and comfort his friend overrode his caution and common sense. Salt practically flew to the door and threw it open, holding a light crystal aloft.

There, just a few feet away from the threshold, was Lake. The other boy was drenched with rain and seemed not to notice the water running down his body in rivulets, that simultaneously mixed with and washed away his tears. His eyes, when they met Salt’s, were filled with surprise, as though he hadn’t expected Salt to come out, even as they were overflowing.

Without a second thought, Salt stepped out of the doorway and grabbed his friend by the shoulder. “Lake! What are you doing here!? You’re going to get sick standing outside in this storm! Don’t tell me you came all the way here from your house in this weather!” Salt ran his eyes over Lake as he spoke, looking for any injuries caused by the perilous journey over the mountain.

“……..you broke your promise.” Lake’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper, but it was firm and carried an accusatory tone. “You didn’t come. You promised you would.”

Salt met Lake’s eyes again, shocked. “Is that why you’re here? Did you seriously wait for me in the rain? All day? You could have gotten really sick Lake! Or worse! You could have slipped and gotten hurt on your way up the mountain! That’s why I didn’t go, I knew it would be too dangerous today. I thought you would know that too and stay home!”

Lake stared at Salt, the accusation in his gaze replaced with puzzlement. He seemed to be contemplating the other’s words.

Finally, Lake smiled and said, “I see now. That’s why you broke your promise. In that case, I forgive you. I had no idea it was too dangerous for you to come. I would have been really upset if anything happened to you.”

Salt involuntarily shuddered. His friend may have been smiling, but it was the same chilling smile from yesterday. The smile that he had when he asked if Salt wanted to swim in the lake.

“But you know…” Lake grabbed the arm Salt was using to hold onto him. “It doesn’t change the fact that it’s lonely. I can’t stand it that something like the rain can keep you away from me.” He tightened his grip, still maintaining that serene yet cold expression. “At first, I thought that having you visit me everyday was enough. But then, I would have so much fun with you during the day, that nights became even lonelier than before….” The smile fell from his face as his words trailed off, but his eyes still held that terrifying look.

“It’s so cold…and suffocating…..when you’re gone I feel twice—no, ten times lonelier than I did before………So why don’t you just stay with me?” The smile came back, only this time, incomparably eerier than before. His grip on Salt’s arm was leaving bruises.

“S….s-stay with y-you?” Salt failed to keep his voice from trembling. His whole body was shaking. He had only been disconcerted before, back at the lake, but right now, for the first time, he was truly afraid of the other boy.

“That’s right. Wouldn’t you like that too? No more having to say goodbye. No more having to walk all the way back to an empty house. You told me that you were lonely too, only getting to see your master every now and again.”

Salt’s vision began to distort. It was like the rain was pouring directly into his eyes, making the world around him blur and bend. At the same time, he felt the strangest sense of vertigo, as the ground seemed to fall away from under him. He closed his eyes, trying to will the unpleasant feeling away.

Suddenly, the sensation vanished, and Salt could tell that he was now sitting on something, something cold and broad. He was also vaguely aware that his hands were buried in a mass of tangled hair. He opened his eyes.

Salt could barely make sense of the scene that greeted him. He was no longer on the ground, but sitting astride a young midnight black colt, his friend nowhere to be seen. He tried to extricate his fingers from the horse’s mane, but found that the sable strands wouldn’t relinquish their hold.

The colt abruptly reared on its hind legs, pawing at the air and releasing an unnatural shriek, a warped mockery of a normal horse’s neigh. When its forelegs hit the ground, the steed took off at a full gallop, leaving the mage’s cottage far behind. Salt couldn’t tell how quickly they traveled in the darkness, but the feeling of the wind and rain against his face implied that they were going far faster than what should be possible.

For over half an hour, Salt spent the ride with his mind frozen in terror of his situation and what lay ahead. However, as the journey stretched on, he slowly began to take notice of his surroundings. The rain that pelted his face was begging to ease, and he could tell that they were headed up an incline.

_The mountain?_

It was the only conclusion he could reach. This creature—Lake was taking him up the mountain.

The rain finally stopped and the clouds began to part. A full moon shone out from the now cleared sky. Salt could now see the mountain path he normally traveled illuminated by the moon and blurred by his mount’s speed.

They were nearly there, at Salt’s usual destination. The lake.

Just as the thought of their special meeting place came to mind, Lake crested the final rise with a jump. While the two were still midair, Salt could see the water stretched out before him, swollen by the rain and reflecting the moon like a mirror.

He only had the time for a passing thought on how beautiful the scene looked, before Lake hit the ground and ran forward even faster than before, eager to reach his goal. It was only then that Salt realized Lake’s objective.

They were headed straight for the water.

Salt barely had the time to scream before they plunged into the depths.

* * *

_Finally. Finally he wasn’t alone._

 

_The frigid waters of the lake didn’t bother him anymore. So long as his friend was here, he felt warm._

 

_His friend was scared, and sad, and angry at first. He had hated seeing his friend like that._

 

_He had apologized again, and again, and again._

 

_For a long time his friend didn’t talk to him._

 

_Those days hurt, but not as badly as when he was alone._

 

_Eventually, his friend said, “I’ll forgive you. But you have to make me a promise.”_

 

_He had agreed. He would do anything to make his friend forgive him._

 

_“You have to promise never to do to someone else what you did to me.”_

 

_He had promised. Why would he need to drag anyone else into the water, so long as his friend was here?_

 

_He was never going to be alone again._

**Author's Note:**

> I am sorry for robbing you of your hopes and dreams Salt. I love you, I really do.
> 
> For those of you who guessed Lake’s identity was a kelpie, congratulations! You were right! For those unfamiliar with the term, kelpies are Scottish water spirits that inhabit streams and lochs(although the loch part is apparently debatable). Their true forms are black horses that trick humans into riding them so that they can drag the human into the water to drown and devour them. However, they are also known shapeshifters, occasionally taking the form of a human and forcibly dragging their victim down into the depths. Obviously I took some liberties and made Lake a kelpie that simply wanted a companion in his isolated benthic home, but given the traditionally malevolent nature of kelpies, it’s only makes sense that his morals in obtaining said companion would be more than a little skewed.
> 
> Just because I feel a little clever about this, I also want to shamelessly point out the symbolism woven into this fic. You see, in Celtic lore, it was believed that the sun died at the end of each day as it sank into the ocean in the west. It would then be reborn in the east to travel the sky and die once again, repeat ad infinitum. How does this tie into my story? Well, it’s because the true romanization of Salt’s name is actually Sol*, which is Spanish/Latin for the sun. Lake’s name is self-explanatory. Thus, I decided to make Lake a literal water spirit that drowns his sun so that it stays with him forever. I’ve been wanting to write a fic incorporating this idea for a while, and now I finally have!
> 
> *For those late to the fandom, the reason why Sol was changed to Salt in the English translations was because of a bit of word play. If you were to say “Sol and Lake” in Japanese it would be “Soru to Reiku”, in others words it would sound like “Salt Lake”. Obviously this word play doesn’t transition to English at all, and so the kind translators at battle brave scans changed his name to Salt so that we westerners would get the reference.
> 
> Also, before anyone has the chance to claim that I literally ripped this information from a certain tumblr post; that is my tumblr post. I wrote it. It is mine. I am plagiarizing myself.


End file.
